PowerShell Summit Europe Registration

Registration for PowerShell Summit Europe will commence on February 27th, 2015 at roughly 12:01am server time (I believe the server is in a Pacific time Azure datacenter). We will be limited to roughly 100 attendees.

I want everyone to understand the basic rules of engagement for this. Setting up and running this event involves significant financial risk. While in this case the event venue, a Microsoft office in Kista (near Stockholm), Sweden, isn't charging us huge fees and requiring us to commit to hotel rooms and the like, there is still risk. Most of that risk is not borne by PowerShell.org, but for the most part by myself, personally. Our speakers also commit to covering their own travel expenses (something we're hoping to offset this year). In addition, PowerShell team members are taking time away from the product to attend, which is a huge logistical commitment because it's such a relatively small team.

For the Europe 2014 event, we had very poor registration numbers almost until the last minute. We also had to work very hard to drum up topic submissions from European speakers. Those two facts worry us a lot, because it suggests that there isn't a strong and engaged community interested in this event. If that's the case, we don't want to barge in and run the event at all. As a result, we're going to be taking a pretty risk-averse approach this time, and I wanted to be up-front and forthright about it.

So: We're going to evaluate the registration numbers and velocity in mid-April. By then, we need to see at least 20-30 registrations. (We usually achieve that in the first week of registrations for the North American event.) If we're not hitting that level, then the event is subject to cancellation (and everyone will naturally get a full and complete refund).

Also know that, should we make it past that point, registration will end by August 15th 2015 or when we fill the available space, whichever comes first. In other words, last-minute registration won't be a thing.

The success of this event depends on the European members of the overall PowerShell community. You need to help get the word out. We aren't going to be advertising, soliciting Microsoft's help, or other techniques. This isn't a commercial conference; it's being done by the community and for the community - and if the community can't make it happen, then it won't happen.

Our agenda will be going online shortly, and you should head to http://PowerShellSummit.org to find the registration links (after reading the introductory material, click "Europe 2015" for details). We'll get it all posted and ready for February 27th - it won't be live until then. Help us get the word out. Tell co-workers. Use Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Attend user group meetings and spread the word. We've got about 6 weeks to get 20-30 people signed up to make sure we're covering base expenses and making this happen.

About Don Jones

Don Jones is a Windows PowerShell MVP, author of several Windows PowerShell books (and other IT books), Co-founder and President/CEO of PowerShell.org, PowerShell columnist for Microsoft TechNet Magazine, PowerShell educator, and designer/author of several Windows PowerShell courses (including Microsoft's). Power to the shell!